Tensions over Iran show cracks in a time-tested alliance

Gone, at least for now, are the halcyon days when strong
military and political ties between Britain and the United States meant that
Washington could assume it had a staunch partner for standing up to a foreign
foe.

Dating back to World War II and including joint actions
against Kosovo, Afghanistan and the two wars against Iraq, US leaders have been
able to count on Britain to take part in invasions and airstrikes, and to help
persuade sometimes cautious European allies to offer political and logistical
support.

The Trump administration was expecting similar support over
what it calls an increased threat from Iran, but this hope has been swatted
down — not with anonymous whispers but by public comments from top British
officials.

In an unusually blunt challenge from Britain, Maj. Gen.
Chris Ghika denied the US assertion of an increased threat from Iranian-backed
forces in Iraq and Syria. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt also warned that the
heated rhetoric could lead to an “accidental” war between the US and Iran.

Those remarks brought Britain closely into line with other
European nations that want a focus on diplomacy, not escalation. Europe wants
to salvage a nuclear containment deal with Iran, not ratchet up tensions.

The very public display of disunity comes as President
Donald Trump prepares to travel to Britain and France next month to mark the
75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, often cited as a shining example of the
value of trans-Atlantic cooperation.

Peter Beyer, the German government’s coordinator for
trans-Atlantic relations, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Germany
is working closely with its European allies to “calm the situation in the Arabian
Gulf” before it gets out of hand.

“Our goal remains to keep the Iran nuclear deal in place,”
he said, referring to the deal that world powers reached with Iran in 2015 to
constrain its nuclear development. Trump has abandoned the deal, frustrating
Britain, France and Germany, whose leaders believe it offers the best way to
prevent nuclear proliferation in the unstable Middle East.

Beyer said Germany’s foreign minister met privately in
Brussels with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday and “outlined very
clearly that we do not want any type of military escalation.”

In a newspaper interview to be published Thursday, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany, France and Britain are taking “a
different approach” from the US on Iran, adding that in this instance the three
countries “have common interests” with Russia and China.

Britain’s ability to influence Trump on its own seems
particularly weak at the moment because the government is in disarray over its
stalled Brexit divorce plan from the EU, and Prime Minister Theresa May has
said she will step down once the withdrawal becomes a reality.

Some European diplomats say privately that Pompeo was
unconvincing when he met separately with several European foreign ministers and
that there is little comprehension of what US officials hope to achieve by putting
maximum pressure on Iran at a time when its economy is already suffering under
sanctions.

The meetings with Pompeo seemed to be thrown together at the
last minute rather than a carefully choreographed diplomatic encounter.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told lawmakers that
putting intense pressure on Iran adds to the risk of an unintended escalation.

“What has happened in recent days — acts of sabotage against
ships or pipelines — are indications that these dangers (of escalation) are
concrete and real,” he said.

For now, the EU refuses to be drawn into the war of words.
Under the nuclear agreement, which is backed by a UN Security Council
resolution, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports every few months on
whether Iran is in compliance with the terms of the deal, known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action.

A new report is due at the end of May, and the Europeans are
waiting to see what its conclusions will be, rather than endorsing the US
position.

In the meantime, Europeans have been trying to keep supply
lines open to Iran. They have set up a complicated barter-type system to skirt
direct financial transactions with Tehran to try to evade possible US
sanctions.

The plan, run jointly by Britain, France and Germany, is not
yet operational, but the fact that the three influential nations banded
together to come up with a way to frustrate US sanctions is one more sign that
the alliances that helped rebuild western Europe after World War II are being
tested as never before.